The present invention relates to an examination chair for supporting a patient during obstetric and gynecologic examinations and, more particularly, to a chair which assumes selected ones of a sequence of a plurality of examination positions to permit a plurality of obstetric and gynecologic examinations to be performed upon the patient.
In the past, gynecologic and obstetric examinations have generally been performed by a physician with the patient supported by a general purpose physician's table. Such a table has a high, flat, hard body support surface and a pair of metal stirrups on either side of the table top surface for receiving the patient's heels so that the pelvic region is exposed for examination. Such a table is extremely uncomfortable for the patient during the examination. Additionally, it is difficult for the patient to climb onto and off of the table surface and to assume the desired examination positions. This difficulty is, of course, heightened when the patient is pregnant. These physical discomforts have added to the mental discomfort and tension which many women experience in such an examination, to make for a highly unpleasant experience.
During the course of an examination by a gynecologist or obstetrician, it may be desired to position a patient in a plurality of standard examination positions such as the lithotomy position and the Trendelenberg position. It may also be desirable to examine the patient with the patient in a flat prone position or to tilt the patient from the lithotomy position to a pelvic tilt position. With most standard prior art examination tables, it has been necessary for the physician to adjust manually the orientation of the examination table, the stirrups, and any movable portions of the table, in order to place the patient in the desired position. This is time consuming and requires a substantial physical effort by the physician.
A variety of examination chairs for use in various medical fields have been developed to provide a power assisted adjustment of the chair orientation. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,578,379, issued May 11, 1971 to Taylor et al discloses a chair for use by dentist in positioning a patient for dental examinations. The chair is provided with a base and connected back and seat portions. An electric motor is utilized for raising and lowering the chair relative to the base. A second motor enables the back portion to recline or return to an upright position, and the seat portion is pivotally connected thereto through a spring mechanism such that reclining of the back portion causes the seat portion to be elevated somewhat.
Such a chair is, of course, adapted particularly for use in dental examinations and is not suitable for use by a gynecologist or obstetrician. Moreover, the chair is inherently limited in the variety of positions which it can assume, while a chair adapted for gynecologic and obstetric examinations requires a relatively large number of major position alterations.
An examination chair that is particularly adapted for use by gynecologists and obstetricians is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,168,099, issued Sept. 18, 1979 to Jacobs et al. The chair includes a plurality of movable chair portions which are movable with respect to each other by means of a hydraulic power arrangement such that the plurality of desired examination positions may be achieved. A plurality of switches are also provided, with each switch associated with a respective one of the examination positions. Actuation of each of the switches thus results in the chair portions moving into the examination position associated with the actuated switch.
The chair provided in the Jacobs et al patent requires not only a mechanical system for connecting the various chair portions and allowing for their pivotal movement, but also a hydraulic fluid supply system for the four hydraulic cylinders used in positioning the chair. Moreover, a relatively complex electric control system, including a printed circuit board, is used for controlling the hydraulic cylinders. Consequently, the examination chair represents a relatively complicated system that is both expensive and difficult to construct. In addition, the hydraulic cylinders and fluid supply system present a potential for fluid spillage, both in the event of a malfunction or during a repair and/or maintenance. Finally, the complex electrical system utilized causes problems for repair and maintenance personnel accustomed to dealing with much simpler systems.
What is need, therefore, is a multi-position examination chair for supporting a patient to permit a plurality of standard obstetric and gynecologic examinations to be performed upon the patient, which chair sequentially assumes selected ones of a plurality of examination positions upon actuation of corresponding ones of a plurality of controls. Such a chair should achieve substantially all of the advantages of a chair such as that described in the Jacobs et al patent, but should be significantly simpler in design so as to enable cost of the chair to be reduced, and construction, maintenance and repair to be facilitated. Such a chair, which would therefore be more within the financial reach of a greater number of gynecologists and obstetricians, would simplify the examination procedure, reducing the patient's tension and at the same time facilitating the examination for the physician.